UNITED STATES – February 19, 2025 – This winter may be one of the worst flu seasons in more than 10 years. More patients are seeing doctors for symptoms of the flu since the winter of 2009-2010. The CDC classifies the flu as “high severity” this season.
As a result of the flu surge, hospitals, emergency rooms and doctor’s offices are crowded with patients sick with this illness. Many hospitals have all their beds occupied; therefore, very sick patients with the flu must remain in the emergency room until a bed is available. Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center in San Diego had to set up a temporary tent to see patients with flu symptoms because the emergency department was overwhelmed with patients. Many hospitals, including Mission Hospital in Asheville, are limiting visitors and not allowing children to visit to reduce the spread of the illness. The flu is so prevalent amongst children that, as of the first week in February, schools have had to close in at least 10 states to slow it’s spread. Most of the closures lasted only a few days.
In an interview with NBC news on February 11th, Dr. Robert Needleman, an emergency department physician at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, said “We’ve seen a lot of sick people in general compared to previous years. It seems like they are having more respiratory issues.”
The flu is a very contagious respiratory illness that can last for a week. The influenza virus can be easily transmitted from person to person through respiratory droplets. Symptoms may include fever, chills, cough, sore throat, runny nose and body aches. The flu may be very common, but it can lead to severe illness like difficulty breathing requiring support with breathing.
As of February 7th, the CDC estimates that there have been 29 million cases this season including my wife and me. There have been more than 370 thousand hospitalizations and 16 thousand deaths from the flu including 68 children.
Listen to the full report below:
Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]
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